Processing Methods May Move Nutrition to Food Movement Center Stage

EXCERPT:Take a pass on food guides, ingredient pyramids, and with any diet books that feature pro-carb, anti-carb, low-fat or packaged solutions of any sort.

The emphasis of the food movement may be shifting towards nutrition and the fight against heavily processed foods. Go fresh! (Photo credit: Bernard Pollack)

The whole field of nutrition – all the way from basic understanding of food make-up to consumer education to public regulation of healthy food choices – is about to get the biggest shake-up in the 200-year-old history of nutrition science as a branch of food chemistry.

The food movement, largely a force of the last 20 years, grew out of efforts to protect local family farms, address issues of hunger and want, promote environmental sustainability, conserve biodiversity, reclaim the spirituality, mindfulness, pleasures, places, cultures and terroir of food, and foster a new crop of food artisans with ambitions to combine community, health and economic benefits.

Nutrition has rarely been front and center of the food movement. Partly that worked to steer clear of turf wars with jurisdictionally jealous dietitians, who tended to see food through an exclusively functional and utilitarian lens – a carrot is a carrot is a carrot and its purpose is to supply Vitamin A and that’s about all we need to know. Partly it worked to build the food movement as a Big Tent movement that stood on its own ground – independent of the divisions identified by vegans, vegetarians, raw foodists, and so on, as well as nutritionists.

That strict boundary between nutrition and food movement concerns may soon end, and that will be a good thing, that may well help the food movement meet its primary task of connecting the dots and people in the whole enchilada known as the food system. It may be time to realize that food system thinking without a nutritional component is a bit like democracy without free speech or human rights.

What caught my attention about the possibility of a new approach to nutrition was an e-mail link that took me to the November issue of the World Nutrition journal , with an editorial proclaiming the “big issue is ultra-processing,” not specific ingredients or nutrients.

A few months away from wrapping up a year-long series by esteemed Brazilian epidemiologist Carlos Monteiro, the editorial claims that its process-centered approach “implies a revolution in thinking about food, nutrition and health at all levels.”

The revolution seems to be that enjoying simple meals with friends and family will displace preoccupation with specific nutrients as the framework for both personal appreciation and public evaluation of food choices. Occupy the meal table!!!

Among the changes to expect from this new processing-centered thinking will be a dramatic increase in the role of local governments in food and health regulations – an area now monopolized by dysfunctional national and international bodies beyond the reach of the populace and more or less captured by global food processing corporations. By any reasonable standards of a government’s duty of care and protection, the failure to provide legal restrictions around salt levels in processed foods or antibiotics in animal feed speaks to some level of failed states when it comes to food matters.

As processing-based food understandings take hold among food enthusiasts, I predict we’ll see a shift to more City Council support for vending of fruits, vegetables and multicultural dishes at farmers markets and by street vendors, less hounding by local health officials of the likes of street-based food vendors and unpasteurized milk advocates, and perhaps even stepped-up actions to use local zoning and taxing powers to protect people from junk food pushers.

The lengthy series in World Nutrition began a year ago, with an editorial claiming it was “time to start again” with a new nutrition paradigm that highlighted processing methods.

Three kinds of processing are identified, each with specific impacts on health, sustainability and other public benefits...

No really...GET HAPPY cuz the local bounty is still in full effect. In fact, it is downright overflowing. It's crazy - there is so much organic produce right now that the market is completely packed and I am having to turn away farmers left and right...in December!! Who would have thought? As eaters, you should be very thankful. Summer was pretty harsh with the excessive heat and drought which certainly affected farmers' yields, but fall made up for it with a heck of a harvest that is still going right into winter. That being said, this could be the last week for a lot of stuff so GET YOUR GREEN GROOVE ON...

...this Friday @ the BADSEED *Winter* Market from 4-8 pm!

Good ol' John and Micki of JJ Farms will be keepin' it real with bodacious bok choy and beets;

the infamous Lew of Herb'n'Gardener will be toting his final harvest of "mean greens" including arugula and spice on spice mix;

the lovely Alicia of Cultivate KC will be boasting rockin' root veggies and a funky-fresh selection of gourmet greens;

last but not least, farmer Dan and I will be busting out with the last of the URBAVORE bounty including wicked watermelon radishes, buttery "Gold Ball" turnips, wild persimmons, and free-range eggs. Veggies aren't the only thing on the menu of course. We also have grass fed meats, artisan cheese, hand-crafted breads, ORGANIC CHESTNUTS, micro-roasted coffee, gourmet granola, and more. For a full list of vendors and products please see below.

Hmmm....what else.....oh yeah! - it is "first" Friday in the Crossroads! Therefore, you can really make a night of it. Bundle up and walk the vibrant streets, see some art, partake in FREE wine tasting next door, and end your night with some of KC's craziest farmers and the finest homegrown foods this side of the Mississippi! As always, your local/organic/free-range musicians from Checkered Past will be performing some super fresh tunes from 6 to 8 pm. Dance, eat, be merry.

Welcome to URBAVORE - an off-grid, diversified, urban farmstead in the heart of KCMO. Born in 2011, URBAVORE is working towards the creation of an “edible oasis” that brings organic growth, sustainable life, and creative solutions to a city neighborhood. We grow an extensive variety of heirloom vegetables noted for their unique appearance and extraordinary flavor, as well as an array of culinary/medicinal herbs and edible flowers. URBAVORE is a non-certified, beyond organic operation dedicated to respecting both the health of the individual and the environment. It is our aim to build community and collective consciousness through the universal pleasure that comes from eating good food.

For the “meanest greens” in town, check out Lew's gourmet selection of urban-grown goodies. He grows a mouthwatering array of lettuces, spicy mustards, arugula, and gourmet salad mixes on KC’s west side. Other tasty morsels include heirloom tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, okra, and filet beans. New For 2011 -RUSTIC BREAD straight from Lew’s hand-built wood-fired oven. YUM!

From the lips of Lew:

"i guess i'll just hush my mouth and accept the luck i'm having by not having everything frozen out. however, this will have to be the very,very,very,very last veggie harvest. there's rustic sourdough bread on the horizon now and through winter in my future. but for this week, i'll have some new arugula, spice on spice mix, mesclun mix, russian kale and a ton of small lto medium leaf swiss chard. if you can work up the will to freeze or can the chard, it will be priced in bulk for that purpose..."

JJ Farms

John and Judy Kaiahua

8531 E. 81st Terrace, Raytown, MO 64138

816-356-3938

John has been growing organically since 1984!! He plants, weeds, and harvests all his own crops on urban land that has been chemical free for over 20 years. Produce includes a wide array of vegetable offerings as well as apples, peaches, and pears in season. John is originally from the far off lands of Hawaii where he comes from a long line of pearl divers!! Now he spends his days out of the ocean and in the dirt, growing righteous foods for the Kansas City community. Lucky us!

Cultivate KC promotes small-scale, community-based, entrepreneurial farming in the KC metro area. Their 2 acre training farm produces some of the tastiest certified organic veggies on the market. Catch them every week during the regular growing season at the Brookside Farmers' Market on Saturday mornings.

Tom and Rebecca organically produce GORGEOUS GOURMET vegetables and fruits on 5 fertile acres for their 125 member "Community Supported Agriculture" program. Occasionally, we get the pleasure of having their delicious homegrown goodies at the BADSEED Market! Dig in....this is a special opportunity!!

OFFERINGS:

*Leeks

*Bulb Fennel

*Hakurei Turnips

*Cabbage

*Romaine Lettuce Heads

*Herbs

*Kohlrabi

*Beets

*other assorted goodies...

Western Hills Produce

Alice and Marvin Huenefeld

Wellington, MO

816-934-2549

Alice is famous for her utterly delicious baked goods made from homegrown, hand-milled whole wheat flour. Her tasty breads, cakes, cookies, and muffins are complimented by an assortment of jams, jellies, pickles, and relishes all made from ingredients sustainably grown on the farm. Marvin adds his own touch with one of a kind wood-turned items handcrafted with the utmost care and creativity. Products can be found during the regular growing season at the Westport Farmers' Market.

"We produce all-natural gourmet beef, lamb, pork, poultry, and eggs. All of our beef and lamb is 100% grassfed. They are never fed any grain, animal by products, antibiotics, or injected with growth hormones. We have been practicing Management Intensive Grazing since 1997. It is our goal to care for all of the livestock that we have been blessed with, in as natural and humane a manner as we can. Our chickens for meat and eggs are also raised on pasture with green grass under their feet as much as the weather in this part of the world allows. Our hogs are fed grain, but do live outdoors with dirt under their feet. We do not use any petroleum based pesticides or fertilizers on our pastures. We believe that healthy people, and healthy animals start with healthy plants and a healthy, biologically active, soil community. Our meats are available at the BADSEED Market or through our Community Supported Agriculture shares."

"Life is too short to eat grocery store cheeses! Green Dirt Farm, LLC invites you to try our HANDCRAFTED ARTISANAL SHEEP CHEESES created with milk from our very own PASTURED ewes. You can be assured of a richness and depth of flavor unique to the rolling bluffs of Weston, MO. Also on the menu is 100% GRASS-FED LAMB which is of unsurpassed quality, tenderness, and flavor."

Our Grass Fed Operation has proven time and again that quality, taste, and tenderness take a dedicated plan. Not only the processing aging, but the types of feed our animals consume are of vital importance. We inter seed our pastures and hay fields with additional varieties of grasses and legumes each year. We also learn from our neighbors and contacts of many new veggies that are wonderful forage. learning all we can to create a superior product.

Charlie started planting chestnut trees in 1995 on old farm ground north of Lawrence, Kansas. Following organic practices from the start, the orchard has been certified organic annually since 1998.

Growing up around wild black walnut trees in eastern Kansas, and being inspired by the visionary economist J. Russell Smith, author of Tree Crops, a Permanent Agriculture, Charlie has always been driven to plant trees that produce food. Whether talking about erosion, water quality, dead zones or global warming, trees are part of the solution. "The more we learn about modern petrochemical-based agriculture, the more convinced am I that tree crops offer a lifesaving, sustainable path to the future."

Chris produces old-world, rustic loaves from the finest locally-grown and milled flour on the market. His breads are made from a sour-dough "starter", lovingly kneaded, and baked to perfection in a wood-fired oven. Flour and water never tasted so good!

OFFERINGS:

*Country Loaves

*Whole Wheat Loaves

*Fig Loaves

*Rye Loaves

Miller's Honey

Les MIller

Independence, MO

Les Miller only produces the best damn RAW HONEY on the market. No joke!! He is an encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to sustainable bee keeping and uses 100% natural and holistic methods for managing his hives which range from 60 to 100 at any given time. His honey is sold in various quantities, and 1 gallon jugs are available on request! Bees wax candles and other by-products are also available for purchase.

OFFERINGS:

*Raw Honey

*Bees Wax Candles

**DISCLAIMER - We haven't seen Les in weeks!! Where is that guy?? I cannot get a hold of him. Cross your fingers that he shows up this Friday!!!